May: 600 tower blocks may have same ‘combustible’ cladding as Grenfell

The British government said Thursday that as many as 600 tower blocks may be covered in the same flammable cladding as used on Grenfell Tower.

Prime Minister Theresa May had earlier said tests showed a number of high-rise apartment blocks were wrapped in “combustible” cladding. Councils in England estimate that number to be 600. A Downing Street spokeswoman said that government would test 100 samples per day to determine if other structures are at risk, the Guardian reported.

Tests confirmed Thursday that seven high-rise buildings in four different local authorities across England have combustible cladding, Downing Street announced. May’s deputy spokeswoman said although the buildings failed fire-safety tests, they were not necessarily unsafe, and landlords are informing the tenants of the test results. At least one tower is in Tottenham and three are in Camden, according to the Guardian.

“We are in touch with all the local authorities to encourage them to urgently send us the samples,” the spokeswoman said. “Obviously nobody will be living in buildings that are unsafe, they will be rehoused if they need to be and landlords will be asked to provide alternative accommodation where that’s possible.”

Local councils are working with fire services and “taking all possible steps to ensure buildings are safe and inform affected citizens,” May said in the House of Commons. “Landlords have a legal obligation to provide safe buildings, and where they cannot do that we expect alternative accommodation to be provided.”

May apologized Wednesday for the government’s response to the Grenfell fire, in which 79 people died in a blaze in the early hours of June 14.

The government failed to provide adequate support to survivors, she told MPs after the queen’s speech Wednesday.

“People were left without belongings, without roofs over their heads, without even basic information about what had happened, what they should do, and where they could seek help,” she said. To prevent such failings in the future, her government will create new strategies to respond to major disasters including a “civil disaster response task force.”

Authors:

Related stories on these topics:

Vishnou

Why was such cladding accepted when it was put in place? Savings at the cost of residents’ safety? Are some lives less valuable than others?

Posted on 6/22/17 | 12:21 PM CET

Jodocus5

Good to see the matter being looked into. Even if it’s a bit late.

It seems regulations that mandate fire-resistant cladding only apply to
(a) new buildings and
(b) in situations where inflammable cladding might cause _neighbouring_ buildings to catch fire.

In other circumstances there seem to be no specific regulations that say: “You MUST use fire-resistant cladding”. It’s left to “general” regulations, which seem to give landlords wide latitude on het matter.